(upbeat music)
- So I'm finally going to Whistler, the mecca of
mountain biking.
I'm making the pilgrimage to one of the most famous
riding spots on the planet.
This is my chance to shine at Whistler Crankworx!
I'm gonna be getting involved, soaking up the atmosphere,
racing, hanging out with pros and legendary trails
like Blue Velvet!
Crank it up, A line and B line.
Actually, Blue Velvet's just down here.
They're all within my grasp, Blake!
We're nearly there. - Let's go.
- Let's get a bus.
- Oh yeah, let's go this way.
Bus is this way. - That way.
- Okay.
I knew this was gonna be a mission.
And I want to make sure you guys see how hard it
was to achieve, how many people it took,
all my friends help, the fun we had, the scary moments,
the bits that went wrong, the bits that went right,
and the bits I'll remember for the rest of my life.
I want to show you it all and make sure you see what
Whistler meant to me 'cause it was amazing.
- [Blake] Mr. Ashton has arrived.
His majesty's arrived.
There he is, there's his chariot.
(upbeat music)
- Look at all them bags.
(upbeat music)
I am tired, that was a long flight.
But it was very comfortable, it was cool,
all of us a little group watched some movies.
Now we're on the road to Whistler,
we're gonna stop at Squamish for some food.
Bikes are in the trailers behind us,
apparently all the trails are on fire so we've
set them alight already.
But it's made it a bit smokey out the back there,
but apparently there's a really lovely view.
Can't quite see it.
Everyone keeps telling me it's lovely.
I feel like it was seeing the bike getting built up
is where I really started to get excited because
Gareth was putting it together, actually hadn't seen
the bike for a little while.
And I don't know if you've seen it, but it's a beauty.
So just made it up to where all the other boys are
hanging out, I've been at the hotel,
I've had a coffee and look who I found,
it's the whole team.
Look at them all.
Looking glorious.
They've got a lovely pad and some nice bikes.
-We've got a hot tub just down there.
Get you in that later.
- [Martyn] I'm not getting in a hot tub with you, dude.
- [Blake] Why not, eh?
- My man, Gareth's getting me bike out.
Oh look!
I cannot wait to ride that bike.
How precise is Gareth? Look he's wrapped it all up, he's got labels on.
Look at this stuff.
Blake, have you got your name on your petals?
- [Blake] No, I haven't, no.
- [Martyn] What's that?
- [Blake] I haven't got a name on my pedals.
- Okay shut up then. - Okay, bye.
(upbeat music)
- Okay I just woke up.
Today I'm gonna ride in on the hill at Whistler.
I'm pretty nervous.
Nervous and a bit scared, actually.
I was watching some of the people come down the trail
yesterday and it doesn't look like there's much grip,
which is a bit worrying.
My hair looks crazy.
But I think I'm just gonna have to stay within my
comfort zone today and stay rubber side down,
as they say.
I'm gonna get ready.
So guys, come and have a look at this.
Look over in the background there.
Gareth and Pete from Fox are working on my bike,
they're about to put, and these are the words they used,
"top pro only" lowers on my front Fox 40s
in orange, pro orange.
It's gonna look amazing.
What would your average rider have to do to get these?
- Win the podium, get on the podium.
Get a podium on the EWS.
- So how am I getting them?
Actually, I won for William, I did, kind of.
The grin says it, have a look.
(laughter)
Biking.
That was a gulp of nerves right then,
I don't know if you caught it.
Keeps rising up in me now and again like whoa.
Gonna go riding bikes, can't wait.
I feel, actually, pretty relieved now more than nervous.
- That you're finally--?
- I just want to get on with it.
I'm pretty scared.
I'm kinda scared.
- That's natural, that's a good thing.
You don't want to not be scared.
- You want to be scared.
- Yeah, you want to be scared.
- Do you know what I'm most scared of?
Getting over confident, that's when I always make mistakes.
- This is A line's last jump Mart.
- Yeah, I can clear that.
- This right there.
- No, I don't want to do that.
♫ I'm too sexy for my shorts
♫ Too sexy for my shorts
I'm too sexy for your shorts, too sexy for your shorts.
Bye.
(upbeat music)
Oh, it's freezing.
I'm actually going home now, I don't like it.
I changed my mind.
Put me back down, Phil.
So this is what's happened, okay?
I'm at the top of, I'm nearly at the top of the world
of Whistler Bike Park, I'm pretty nervous.
But I can tell they're pretty nervous too so I think
they really want it to go well.
There's a really funny vibe going on,
there's lots of very nervous laughing,
but I'm gonna go and do it, this is it,
I'm finally getting it, I'm gonna do Whistler.
I'll tell you, I was in my element 'cause I was
just thinking the whole time down,
"I'm actually riding Whistler."
Which is amazing, it sounds so simple, but I promise you
to get me to Canada on a bike that I can ride,
which has been specially built with a team
of people that understand all the things that I need,
just to be able to do this, it's mad.
And doing it was wild, I think the only word I could
use was wild.
It felt like we were breaking the law.
(upbeat music)
[Doddy] - Yeah Mart!
[Doddy] - So good!
Yes! Yes!
First bit done!
[Doddy] - Dude that was amazing.
[Blake] Welcome to Whistler Martyn!
[Martyn] - Wind in the hair,
it's so good.
So good.
(upbeat music)
[Doddy] That was the coolest thing I've ever seen!
[Doddy] - That was just some of the coolest... [Martyn] - Yes!
(laughter)
(upbeat music)
- [Doddy] Whoa, I've got you.
- So it wasn't without it's moments,
ended up in that ditch, but Blake I could've ridden
that out, I'm positive.
I guess it rang the alarm bells, it shows you how
quickly it can go wrong.
Maybe I needed a little moment.
Followed that trail down, crank it up,
it was amazing, got to the bottom, high five heaven.
(upbeat music)
Sorry Gareth, we were all so stoked on riding Whistler,
but the big stuff was to come.
I still had to practice A line and I still had to
race the Fox Air DH, the big race at Whistler
Crankworx and I was determined to be part of it.
But it wasn't gonna be easy, actually.
I had to prove I could kind of ride the trail.
A line, the most famous bike park trail on the planet
and it starts with a bit of a drop off, basically.
I haven't done any drop offs like that on my bike before
so it was gonna be a bit of a tester.
Got to be honest, the guys were keen about me
doing this drop.
I think I just go, just ride off it, it's fine.
Yeah, but I'm gonna be going zzzzoop, straight off it.
- Sure about this, Mart? - No.
Yeah, it'll be fine.
I can do that, let's do that.
Come on, we can do this.
Come on lads, we can do this, we've got to try some stuff.
Yeah, let's go.
And we sent it off there, it was perfect.
That drop was almost designed for my bike.
It skimmed off there no problem, thank goodness.
The track was crazy, the jumps are insane.
Tried some of them, the moment I got a little bit
confident, the old buck came out and gave me a bit
of a kick in the back side.
My seated position means that every time I go up
a take off it just kicks like a donkey.
I basically go back real high on every jump so I have
to be really careful.
There's only a few step up jumps that work okay for it.
Whistler, kind of famous for it's jumps so I was a
little bit nervous and full of trepidation of riding
that course.
Yeah, I'm not there to clear every jump,
I'm there to get down the trail, I want to get down
the race course and say that I raced in an international
event.
(upbeat music)
- That's your number, there's my number.
- We're both the same number.
Am I racing Air DH then?
So we're in.
Funny moment, doing the Dirt Shed Show,
getting on with our business, then we realise the start
time for Fox Air DH, the race we've travelled all
the way to Canada for is upcoming and we've pushed it
a little bit tight.
So we send Blake one way, Gareth the other to get
the bike, they meet, try to find a battery,
we can't find one.
I'm rushing down frantically, they're following up
behind, we get to the start hut--
Come on Blake!
(dramatic music)
- Practise at 5:30 today.
- The race is tomorrow?
- Yeah.
There's the practise race right now.
- Oh.
We're a day early.
Phew.
So it turns out Fox Air DH is tomorrow.
We're good.
Look how knackered they look.
- Oh man.
(upbeat music)
- Today is serious, I'm competing in the Fox Air DH
downhill, not a Fort Williams style video where we
pretend what it would be like if a disabled athlete
took part in a race and I get to ride into that finish
line area for real racing.
I can't believe I'm doing it.
Gonna be amazing, I'm racing at Crank Works for real.
(upbeat music)
Bit of last minute prep going on by Gareth.
Pump that shock up, dude.
He's a good lad, isn't he.
Go, go Blake, go.
(mumbles)
Yeah, man. - Have fun.
- Let's go racing.
(upbeat music)
What am I doing?
(laughter)
Got me?
I'm really nervous now.
The beeping's made me nervous.
- [Doddy] Its' real now.
- Yeah, it's made me really scared.
I'm like, I hadn't thought it was gonna be all
like super tech.
- Don't be over confident. - No.
- I'm not over confident, I'm under confident.
- Just like my child is going out into the wilderness
on his own and I'm nervous.
(beeping)
(upbeat music)
[Martyn] - I'm racing A-Line
[Doddy] - Yeah Mart, perfect, perfect!
(cheering)
[Announcer] - Lets have a big Crankworx welcome to the finish area of the Fox Air DH, Martyn Ashton everybody!
(cheering)
- So good.
The excitement of getting to the bottom and being
interviewed just like a racer from some downhill that
I've watched on the TV, I come off of the finish line
and there's people there who have literally travelled
to see me race 'cause they've seen on social media
that I'm taking it on.
It was amazing.
Such a good feeling.
- You've done it.
- A line, yes.
(upbeat music)
When I think of Whistler Crankworx, one of the most
memorable and iconic events is the Whip Off World Champs.
Really hard to get to, but me and Gareth were determined
to join the team there and watch.
I'm trying to get to Whip Off, we found out in the wheel
chair that we're on an incredibly steep mountain
and I can't get there, we're about to fall out.
So Gareth and Dave our best friend that we've just met.
Look at Dave he's like a mountain.
It's gonna be fine.
[Dave] - Let's get this going, let's get it going.
- Well we made it.
We got down the mountain, we made it to Whip Off,
it's actually happening right behind us.
Thank goodness for that.
But look at that mountain we just got down.
That was insane.
Dude, we could've planned that better.
[Gareth] - (laughter)...Could've.
- The jumps these guys do are so crazy,
they push it so far trying to get as much style
and amplitude and to try and win.
This event, basically, is just a bit of fun but has
become one of the most special moments of the event.
It's really spontaneous, it feels really free,
it feels really real.
I loved it, I loved seeing these guys just go for it.
I even got a buggie ride down, which was super cool.
So I'd done what I'd gone there to achieve.
But I couldn't go all the way to Canada and not ride
some North Shore.
(upbeat music)
Going out for a day of North Shore at a place called
River Runs Through It.
Bike's just going on the back of an epic Chevy van.
Looks so cool.
We're gonna have some fun today.
(mumbling)
(laughter)
[Blake] - I was like, why are you so heavy this morning?
Too much vegan food.
- It's a lot of helmets, that's a lot of helmet.
Mate, watch this.
Did that make it more difficult?
[Blake] - A little bit. - Oh I'm sorry.
(upbeat music)
What does the trip mean? I don't know.
When I arrived at this event they gave me my pass.
Usually I get a pass these days and it's like
a disability badge or something like that.
This one says athlete at Crankworx Whistler and
it's got my name on it.
That means that the people here looked at me like
anyone else and was like, "Well he's riding and we're
"gonna make sure he had a good time and has a chance
"to race," which they did.
And I raced!
I came here and raced.
This is cool but the thing that really comes out
every time I ride my bike is that I really do need to be
helped by my friends.
That was so evident this time.
Today, I don't know how many times Blake ran back and
caught me when I was about to lose my balance.
I think it's about team work and friends, comradery
is maybe the word.
I feel like we all feel like we achieve something
when we get a good shot of me riding,
it's not just me riding my bike.
Last time I rode was at Fort William and we kind of
pretended that I went to an international race
and took part.
This pass proves that I can really do that.
I'm really proud of that.
I really am proud of that.
Athlete.
I haven't felt like being an athlete for a long time.
And then comradery, just making things work with
your friends.
And that's what, for me, going out and about
with your mountain bike means.
It's going out with your friends.
Thanks, you lot, that's cool.
It means good things.
I'm gonna get some dinner.
(upbeat music)
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